The Fruit Ninja Tales
by bedfish
Summary: I've been raised since birth. To do this. Fruit Ninja. The game is all I've ever known. I am not sure if I am strong enough to win this one. The ultimate game. One where to lose means certain death.
1. In The Beginning

Mustering up the courage, I sliced the fruit and entered into the game.

There was a creepy silence, it made me feel uneasy, but I pulled out my shiny, rainbow blade and ran my finger up and down it, seeing how sharp it was.

After a moment, there was a sharp cracking sound from behind me. _The fruit. _The game had officially begun. There was no turning back now, I had to stick it out until I reached the end. I shivered in my shoes, hoping to hell that I would be able to beat the game and make it out alive.

The first fruit, a watermelon, was rushing down towards me, I ran out of the way, swinging my blade as I did so. _Rejoice, _the fruit was cut perfectly and symmetrically in half, earning me the first ten points. I knew that the next thing to appear would be a bomb, so I situated myself in the far most end of the room to avoid it.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the telltale sound of a bomb was heard from above me. It landed directly in the middle of the room, making the floor vibrate as it did so.

Each time the fruit came down, I would race across the room, slicing it perfectly each time. I was beginning to tire though, my strength was running thin. Each time I sliced through that fruit, the fatigue took over my body just that little bit more. I had to keep on going, I couldn't succumb to my body's desire to just lay down and rest. My life depended purely on my persistence and mental strength now.

A few hours later, I was still going. Pushing on. My arms, legs and body were all weary and heavy. But I had progressed beyond the human tendencies to escape pain and my mindset had turned to one of persistence. I couldn't give up now.

Each time a piece of fruit came flying down, with it came at least a dozen other pieces of fruit and usually a bomb or too as well.

This was my life now, to be or not to be, I could either live like this forever, or lay my weary head to rest and cease to exist.

_Stop. _I couldn't keep thinking this way. Thoughts were a distraction, and they caused emotions which could stop me from performing my best in this ultimate showdown.

Smash. Slash. Crush. Split. All the sounds of fruit being cut up. Funny how such a trivial thing could be a matter of life and death for me.

I had never known anything but the game. The slicing, the sound of juicy fruits, blades cutting and it was all the norm for me. But everything, every single game I had played before had just been practise for this one.


	2. The Black Jewel

Somehow, now, the finality of it all sunk in, worrying or pining for other possible futures or situations was all but useless. Life had lead me here, and so it was my duty to do as it wished.

_Drrrrrring. _A chime sounded. It sounded abnormally loud and distinct in this eerie environment. After slicing through a strawberry I looked directly above me to where the sound had come from. High above the ceiling there was a black, blurry form. I had no idea what it was, and a rush of nerves overcame me suddenly. I darted back to the wall, breathing heavily. _Calm. _You're in control, I reassured myself, nothing can hurt you. You're completely in control.

_BAAAAAANNGGG. _I near jumped out of my skin at the horribly loud sound of what was probably the black blurry thing that had seemed so far up in the air just a few minutes ago. I turned around to face it. Gasping as I recognised what it was.

_The Black Jewel. _The ultimate goal. Everyone who ever takes part in the game desires it. But only one in a thousand actually get it. I cannot believe I didn't realise what it was earlier. Rushing over to the seemingly useless black mass of dust on the floor, I use my blade to dig through it. It has got to be in here somewhere.

It is a well known fact that inside The Black Jewel there is a great treasure, it is always unique for the different person who receives it, but each time it is always of great value. I shivered in anticipation, hoping that this was legit, not just a ploy to set me off track. But even if it was I couldn't risk the chance that it wasn't, and give up the most valuable opportunity that I would ever come across. My blade touched something solid and I leapt forward, running the blade back across the area it had touched, trying to find the item. I heard something dropping on the ground behind me and I spun around, my blade at the ready. I saw nothing, and it wasn't until my heartbeat had slowed that I noticed a glint on the floor. I leant down eagerly, locating the source of the sparkle. A rock. It could be classified as a rock, but it was not that. A gem perhaps, a crystal, a jewel even. This special ornament, although I had no idea as to what I would use it for, was indeed very important. I placed it gingerly into the right pocket on the inside of my jacket and did up the zip. For now I would keep it safely in reach.


	3. A Memory

Each time another piece of fruit came flying down I renewed my strength by the thought of how fortunate I was to have received the Black Jewel. Yet still, although I knew it would be vital for my survival in the end, I had no inkling as to what exactly it would be used for.

The whole line of my people were highly skilled and athletic beings whose life dominated around this game. Strict training routines had been enforced on our people for many, many centuries and it had ensured the continued success of our race. I was merely a product of this training and discipline who had done exactly what was expected of her, no more, no less.

I was beginning to focus more on my past, on what had been taught to me and which techniques were used to strengthen my skill. Dwelling on these thoughts I began to sink into a slight trance, allowing my mind to explore the past memories of my now dead ancestors. This was one refinement of the mind that had been exploited by my people. I drifted into one particular memory, letting my muscle memory take over the game for a short period...

_Sitting anxiously, with her ankles crossed and breathing unsteadily, she reminded me of my sister. Close relationships with siblings was frowned upon by everyone for no particular reason, and because of this, brothers and sisters were all separated from their parents at a young age to be put into a strict regimen of training. Once they may have been lovely, luscious looking tresses but now her dirty golden locks fell about her shoulders in disarray. Just like me, I thought, all stupid hopes and dreams swept aside with the finality of my leaving. _

_A man entered the room, he didn't notice me as I was part of a memory, and my physical form wasn't here. Striding over to the girl, he was breathing heavily, and looking extremely anxious. _

_"What's wrong?" the girl asked timidly. _

_"You." The man replied simply. _

_"Me? How so? I've been applying all the techniques I've been taught, always listened to instructions, my behaviour has been exemplary, what is the matter?" _

_The man looked at her, stunned for a second, and then whispered, "How has it come to be that you are so intelligent, young lass?" _

_"I-I don't know," she stuttered. _

_"It's okay," he said softly, and laid a hand gently on hers, "I do not wish to hurt you miss, only protect you. I've seen what the game can do to one, and I most definitely do not wish such an ill-fortune upon you." _

But there wasn't a choice between participating in the games was there? You were born, taken from your family, put into a home, and trained until you were old enough to actually take part in the game. Yet there was no reason for me to have been told this. Perhaps some were lucky enough to be put aside for other jobs. There would have to be people to run the games, maintain the standard of society and of course actually train the young ones. Those people could just be the ones that weren't chosen for this ultimate game as I was and survived all their other games. After a certain period they were allowed freedom, to marry, to birth children, raise their own upkeep, do whatever they wished. As long as their children were given up when the time came. It was compulsory for a woman to give birth to at least three children throughout her lifetime.

_...The man reached his hand out towards the young girl, she looked up at him warily. _

_"Take my hand lass. I want to help." _

_She stared into the man's eyes gingerly, seemeing to decide he was trustworthy, and taking his hand. She stood up and walked around the room a little to stretch her legs. _

_I could hear footsteps of someone approaching down the hallway and wanted to warn the two about the incoming intruder but in a memory dream it was impossible to do this and so I stayed silent. _

_The man rushed over to the girl, and pulled her into a small cupboard in one of the walls. He had evidently heard the footsteps. He turned to face the doorway just as another strikingly similar looking man come into the room. The stiff, bored look on the girl's protector was quickly replaced by one of relief._

_"Brother," he let out softly. _

_"Is she here?" the other man replied, looking around the room. _

_"Yes. In the cupboard." _

_He turned around and let the girl out of the cupboard. She looked at her protector's brother timidly before saying, "Greetings."_

_He smiled slightly and replied, "Greetings lass." He then turned again to his brother and said urgently, "We must think about our plan in greater detail before putting it into action."_

_"Excuse us young lass, we must discuss this in more privacy, if you were to be caught again they would most definitely get a story out of you, us however, I'm afraid, it would be quite illegal to do so," the girl's protector explained to her. _

_I could hear the brothers discussing the plan, frequently using jargon I didn't understand. In brief, they were to place the girl as being contagious with a deadly plague. This would allow them privacy to do whatever they wished without being bothered. They would then use some secret entrance to allow her to escape from the building. After this she would have to make her own way to wherever she wished, keeping clear of civilised areas near the training prison. _

_"Okay, we are ready now to put this plan into action. Come with us."_

_The three of them left the room, two tall, dark men and in between them a dirty, skinny looking girl. The memory faded out before I had the chance to follow them along the hallway..._


	4. Unusual Break

The present faded back in and I regained full control of my body again. Luckily there hadn't been any particularly tricky moves I had needed whilst I had been in the memory. As I mindlessly slashed my way through more fruit I thought over the dream I had incidentally crept into. Was it just a coincidence I had gone to this dream, or was it fate? Pondering the meaning of two guards risking their lives just for the chance of a young girl's freedom, was she valuable, or were the guards just taking pity on her? There were so many questions in my mind and I was forced to put a mind net around them to keep my full attention on the game.

I found it much harder to keep the distracting thoughts in the back of my mind though. Each time I let my focus on keeping the net in place slip I would feel a fickle little inquiry floating up into the front of my mind. I wished there could be a break in this endless game so I could have some time to think about the dream.

Above me, fruit was coming down relentlessly with no gaps in between each lot of it. I would never get tired so long as I kept going. Each fruit I sliced transformed into energy that entered my body, this meant I didn't have to eat or stay hydrated. Many millenniums of practicing science and tinkering with different forms of energy transformations had given my people the ability to do things such as these. Going to the toilet and resting was also not a problem, I have heard that over a thousand years ago, eating, drinking, excreting and sleeping were always done manually. At present, a complex machine is used to do all these jobs for us. In another's point of view it might seem lazy, or unnecessarily complicated but considering what our race does, it is in fact very useful.

Something ununsual about my surroundings suddenly caught my attention. An absence of sound. It was completely silent. I couldn't hear or see any fruit falling above me. Nothing was moving except for my lonely human figure. I kept glancing upwards, agitated at this weird change of events. Last time something like this happened I received the Black Jewel, so I try to relax myself a little.

A lot of time passes, and I am nearly fully relaxed. My thoughts come out of the mind net and start to swarm around in my head again. There is no helping it. Was what happened and was going to happen in this memory dream important for my fate? Could the girl have been someone I knew? I hadn't known that there was anyone in charge of the prison that would have helped a trainee. What was the point? Unless they had personally known them, which was almost impossible as trainers were often never allowed out of the premises. They all went through a period of training themselves, eight years, so by the time they could begin training young ones, all who they would have known wouldn't be alive anymore. Perhaps the two brothers didn't know the girl personally, but someone they did know, or had heard of did. They could have just been under orders of somebody else. _But why? _Questions and answers were splashing all around my head, making me a trifle dizzy. Even if there wasn't anything going on in the game right now, being lightheaded when it started again would certainly not be to my advantage. I saw no use to analysing everything anymore and so I strung up my thoughts in the tightest possible mind net, hoping it would hold until I found some more spare time.


	5. Ceased

Mind spinning, legs wobbling, there was nothing above me. Nothing at all. There hadn't been anything dropping down for at least a few weeks now. It was disconcerting and if anything it didn't give me a break; it just made me more anxious. I felt as if I had to check the ceiling constantly. It was more exhausting than the game itself. I needed to sleep. Slicing fruit is the thing that gave me energy, now I couldn't do that, and I had to regain energy naturally. I hadn't slept since I was brought into training. It was a terrible torment at first, not being able to sleep at all, guards were kept with you constantly to make sure you didn't drift off. After a month, my body began to cope better, suddenly I had more energy, I didn't feel so exhausted all the time, gradually, I learnt to get my energy and rest from the game. I don't know how my body does this but I'm not going to question it as it is the thing that is keeping me alive right now.

Lying on the ground, I closed my eyes. It was unnerving to not be aware of my surroundings, I just saw a veil of murky blindness. At first I had trouble keeping them shut, I was unpractised after all but eventually the all too human aspect of shutting one's eyes to rest took over my body and I drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

I was being hunted, constantly hunted. I don't know what by but it was terrifying. Each step I took could be my last. I used all means possible to escape being prey to the hunter but it was inevitable. I stumbled, ruining my chances at survival. The entire universe went silent. Not a sound. The silence sounded as if it would go on forever. When it stopped, I was swiveled around by my shoulders. My heart dropped as I saw the face of Faust. He was the end bringer, the Grim Reaper of the games. There was only one way to summon him. I realised what had happened. A bomb. I had been too slow, clumsy, foolish and now because of one simple mistake it was over. Everything. Gone. My life ended. The stark shock of this gave me trouble breathing. Faust was still standing near me, glaring. It was as if he was staring into the depths of my soul. I had lost. I may as well surrender willingly because there was no point in trying to resist. He took my arm roughly, yanking me towards a portal he had created, it lead to the end...

Gasping, I jolt back to wakefulness, looking around the room I can see no sign of Faust, or anything unusual. What had happened? Was I dead? The room is silent, but my breathing and movement keep the eerie silence away. I couldn't believe what had just happened, what I had done, words could not describe the agony of losing the game. Yet I still seem to be in it. I am not sure where I am.

An unusual thought suddenly entered my mind. A parallel universe inside your mind that comes alive when you rest. _Dreams. Dreaming. _I remember sneaking into the forbidden section of the library to read about the early humans. There had been so many unknown words in the books it made it hard to understand. This one fact though, _dreaming, _was just about the only thing I managed to remember from the books. If it was a _dream, _then surely it wasn't real. Nothing had changed in the room, I still existed, and apparently the game hadn't ended yet.

_Woooooooom. _I jump up with electric speed, the fruit was coming again. It had been over three weeks, and yet just when I woke up from resting, the hiatus ended? Surely that was no mere coincidence.

_Slash. Smash. Crush. Slam. _I was back into the rhythms and motions of the game. That dream had temporarily put me off but I now knew it was merely fiction. Well not really fiction, it was a parallel universe. One in which I lost the game. I don't know what would have made me so clumsy, I was sure it was not simply a foolish mistake of my own. Perhaps some tampering was involved.

The dream could not have been a parallel universe but instead perhaps a future telling. If it was so then it was inevitable that I would lose the games. When was uncertain, but it would be someday.

I shiver, despising the helplessness of my situation, I hope dearly that it was just a meaningless dream. There was absolutely no way I would ever let myself lose the game. To lose is to give up. Face the end. Cease to exist. I can't imagine, because it is impossible to, what it is like to be dead. Surely I could not simply just die, and not ever move, think, interact or do anything at all again. Something had to happen after I die, _surely._


	6. Infinity

The encounter with Faust had left me anxious and I decide to continue on with playing the game and keep a firm grip on all my thoughts. They were distracting. Sometimes they were useful but generally they were a constant burden.

I turn my attention onto the fruit falling down, slicing perfectly in half each time one comes my way. One of the first skills you learn in training are how to get the combos, they come down in special packages that are almost invisible unless you're looking closely. Slicing several fruit at a time gave me a ten second break in which no fruit fell down.

My arm feels heavy but I struggle on, knowing that to rest would prove to be fatal. Each breath I take is hagged and short. A tight, dizzying pain is settling its self over my body, rendering my skin numb. My vision is starting to blur, indistinct shapes cover my eyes and I drop to the ground. _This is a dream, just a dream. You wouldn't let this happen in real life, _I think to myself.

I wait for my vision to return to normal, for my skin to stop tingling and my head to stop spinning. It doesn't happen. Its not a dream, this is real. _How could this happen? _I never could have let this happen. _Stop. No. I beg to stay! _

Faust was there, waiting.

The visit from before was just a friendly reminder.

I should have taken it more seriously.

I was going now.  
To death. To enlightenment. Nothing. Infinity. Space. Or even to the Void.

I am awoken by the thud of a heavy object. I look up to the unfamiliar ceiling, wondering where I am. I can smell expensive perfume, the sweat of somebody who had inhibited the room before, the musty scents of mould and even the sweet, crisp smell of spring grass. My senses are overwhelmed with the vividness of the environment around me, all of them joining together, becoming confused. I am near to falling back asleep again when I hear footsteps beyond the mattress.

A polite voice says, "I see you've gotten here with not much trouble at all."

"What? What am I doing here, what happened?!" I cry out, thrashing my arms about in protest.

The body that belongs to the polite voice comes over and places her hands on my shoulders.

"It's alright, you're meant to be here."

"Why am I here?" I ask, feeling desperate.

"The Game. That is why. You played the Game, and now it is over. You are here now."

"Well yes I'm here now but why is it over?"

"No particular reason, we all believed it was your time," she answers

"So am I dead?"

"No, no, of course not deary! You've merely been transported to a realm where nobody below can enter unless we invite them."

"Interesting, I suppose."

She nods and smiles slightly.

"There's no point in the game is there?"

"Nope, none at all. It truly doesn't even matter if you let yourself die. You still end up here."

I bite my lips, confused, "What is the point of even participating in the Games?"

"There is none."

She continues, "There is no purpose in living, when we descend none of it matters, and so we create purpose. Make a life worth living. You are here now and you can create your own purpose. Stay here forever, or visit another realm, inhabit another body and nurse a livelihood."

* * *

Prologue

I reach out for my phone on the kitchen counter. The screen lights up, showing a notification. From one of my friends who is inviting me to play a game. I decide to give it a go. _Fruit Ninja. _In a nutshell its just slicing fruit using shiny blades. I know now that this is my life purpose. To play The Game.

* * *

**A/N: well that's the ending! sorry there are a few loose ends but the stories I added in between were generally just fillers and to make it more interesting. Thankyou so much for reading and be sure to favourite or leave a review (◡‿◡✿)**


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